1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a button comprising a button body having an insignia such as a logotype, a design or a pattern applied, and an attachment means such as a removable pin enabling attachment of the button to clothing, a hat, etc., and to a device for manufacturing such a button.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
As shown in FIGS. 21(a) and 21(b), a button of the related art comprises a button body 200a having an insignia 215 of a logotype, a design or a pattern applied, and an attachment means 229 such as a removable pin enabling attachment of the button to clothing or a hat, etc. The button body 200a is made up of a rear cover 205 and a front cover 201, and is formed so that the peripheries of a design paper 211 and a transparent cover (sheet member) 213 placed on an upper surface of the front cover 201 are inserted between an edge 203 of the front cover 201 and an edge 209 of the rear cover 205. The insignia 215 of a logotype, a design or a pattern, etc. is printed on the design paper 211. The rear cover 205 is provided with a coupling member 260, such as a pair of holes 261, 261, for mounting an attachment means 229 such as a removable pin. This related art button is manufactured using a manufacturing device as disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-open Patent Publication No. 61-32005A.
This manufacturing device comprises a base, an arm fixed to the base, a pressing mold assembly attached to a tip of the arm which is moved up and down by a handle, a plate provided rotatably on the base, and first and second lower die assemblies provided on the plate. The press molding assembly is moved up and down by a pinion rotated by the handle and rack engaging with the pinion. Also, the button has a pair of holes through which a removable pin is coupled to the rear cover 205.
Since the above described button of the related art has the attachment means 229 secured to the coupling member such as a pair of holes 261, 261 preformed in the rear cover 205, the orientation of the insignia 215 applied to the button body 200a and the position of the means 229 such as a pin attaching the button in use are predetermined, and there is a problem that the position of the attachment means 229 cannot be changed with respect to the desired orientation of the insignia 215. With the above described related art device for manufacturing the prior art button, in manufacturing the button body 200a, the orientation of the insignia 215 applied to the button body 200a is often misaligned with the coupling member 260, such as a pair of holes 261, 261, etc. formed on the rear cover 205 (e.g., a position of the coupling member 260 is skewed to attain a desired orientation of the insignia 215; see FIG. 21(c)), and in these cases a position of the attachment means 229 secured to the coupling member 260 is also undesirable with respect to the orientation of the insignia 215, and the button, when attached by a pin 229 on clothing, or the like would have its front insignia undesirably oriented. This means that the button body 200a must be coupled with the member 260 after confirming the orientation of the insignia 215 in relation to the position of the coupling member 260, and this is a bothersome and time consuming task. Additionally, the button of the related art has a problem in that the attachment means 229 secured to the button body 200a is fixed, and it is also inconvenient that there is no alternative means that can be used.
Since the above described related art button manufacturing device has a problem with strength, parts such as a base and an arm are fabricated by casting, which results in the finished product being heavy and having a high price. Since a considerable force is required to press down the arm and the pressing force is acting on the base, instability of positioning of the base will disturb a normal operation, and the operation carried out on an unstable work platform might cause the base to slide off the work platform and break. Also, with the button manufacturing device of the related art, there is a problem that it is difficult to manufacture the button while confirming the orientation of the design paper attached to its front cover in relation with the position of the pair of holes formed in the rear cover. For this reason, when the removable pin was fitted into the pair of holes, the resultant button would have its design paper undesirably exhibited due to misadjustment in position with the attachment pin.
The present invention has been conceived in view of the above described problems, and an object of the invention is to provide a novel button which, in fitting an attachment means to a button body, is capable of altering a position of the attachment means as desired to appropriately orient a design or pattern insignia on the front surface of the button body. Another object of the invention is to provide a novel button where a coupling member can be selected from a plurality of alternatives such as a detachable pin, a clip, a magnet or the like. Additionally, in view of overcoming the above mentioned disadvantages, still another object of the present invention is to provide a button manufacturing device that is light, solid and produced at a low cost, does not take up much space and can be operated in an unstable installation location, and which is designed to be friendly even to a child user. In still another aspect of the invention, an improved button manufacturing device of highly safety-oriented design is provided that can protect a child user from accidentally pressing his or her finger. In still another aspect of the invention provided is an improved button manufacturing device of enhanced reliability which permits a useless load to be released after a specified machining procedure of manufacturing buttons.